Winkelried’s Heroic Death
On the eighth of July, Duke Leopold appeared before the little city of
Sempach with fourteen hundred knights and horsemen and several thousand
foot-soldiers. He pitched his camp at the edge of a forest on a height
facing the city. Before subduing Lucerne, he had resolved to teach
Sempach a terrible lesson and punish it for its rebellious spirit. For
use in the forthcoming attack he had brought with him huge machines, the
first to throw heavy missiles. Partly to find a place where they could
be set up, and partly to cut off the supplies of the besieged, he sent
his infantry to drive off the peasants, after compelling them to cut
their ripening corn. The nobles took great delight in mistreating the
harvesters and jeering at the besieged. Veit of Mörsperg would ride up
to the walls and contemptuously order them to bring out breakfast for
the harvesters; and Jörgel would point to the loaded wagons, with the
threat that all of them should be hanged.
How those in Thurgau learned Duke Leopold’s plans is no secret to the
reader. They quickly left for their menaced homes, marched day and
night, and on the way were assured of the good-will of Zug, Glarus, and
other places. On the morning of July ninth they reached a wood, called
the Meierholz, and there occupied a strong position. Just as Duke
Leopold had issued orders for the attack upon Sempach to begin in
earnest, he was surprised by the news of the arrival of the
Confederates, whom he supposed to be far away from there. He called a
council of war to decide whether battle should be given at once or be
deferred. The older and more experienced knights, who knew the courage
and iron resolution of the Confederates, voted for the latter plan, and
advised the Duke first of all to get into communication with
Bonstetten’s division. The young hot-heads outvoted them, however, and
the Duke made the fatal decision to give battle at once. He took up his
position on a piece of meadow land, gently sloping toward Sempach. At
the request of those knights who were so certain of victory, and who
wanted to secure the honor of the day for themselves alone, the
foot-soldiers were placed in the rear near the baggage trains. The
larger part of the horsemen were formed in three divisions, and as each
came into action they were to dismount and fight on foot. The first of
these divisions was formed in a square, twenty or thirty ranks deep, and
armed with harpoon-shaped spears, about five metres in length, so
arranged that one overlapped the next, thus apparently making the square
impenetrable.
It was now midday. The sun beat fiercely down upon the heavily armored
knights. Some in the middle ranks fainted; some died from suffocation.
In all other ways the Austrian position was advantageous, for they
occupied the higher point and could hurl themselves down upon the enemy.
The Confederates, fearing the arrival of Bonstetten, rested a brief
spell in the Meierholz and then advanced for immediate attack. They were
between fifteen and sixteen hundred strong and were armed with swords,
pikes, and halberds. Their leader, Schultheiss of Gundoldingen, formed
them in wedge shape, the point toward the enemy. In this order they fell
upon their knees and implored divine help. The haughty knights,
supposing that they were begging for mercy, taunted them. They soon
discovered their mistake, for hardly had they risen to their feet,
before they rushed forward with a mighty shout and the fearful blasts of
their battle-horns. The Lucerners formed the point of the wedge and
attempted to force a way through the enemy, but the Austrians stood as
immovable as a wall, helm to helm, mail to mail, shield to shield, and
between the shields a forest of spears, which resisted the attack. The
Urners next advanced. “Break down their spears; they are hollow!”
shouted their leader; but the broken spears were replaced by those
behind them, and the Urners gave way as the Lucerners had done. The
brave Schwyzers fared no better, and in falling back suffered severe
loss from the showers of arrows shot at them from behind hedges and
bushes.
The knights felt sure of victory, and the Confederates were losing
confidence. More than sixty of their bravest, among them their leader,
were lying dead on the field; the knights had not yet lost a man, and
their position remained unbroken. Every one in the Confederate ranks
realized that it was a critical moment, and none more fully than Arnold
of Winkelried, who led the men of the Nidwald. A decision must be made
instantly, or Confederate blood would be uselessly shed and the fruits
of the glorious victory of Morgarten would be wasted. Thus thought
Arnold, and he made the decision at once. There are things more
important than life. He had not shrunk from the poisonous breath of the
plague. He had looked death in the face countless times in foreign wars.
The time had now come for him to offer himself up for freedom and the
fatherland.
“Brethren in arms!” he loudly shouted, “care for my wife and children. I
will open a path for you. Follow me.”
With inevitable death before him he dashed forward, threw himself upon
the enemy’s lances, and bent them down to the earth by the weight of his
body. Pierced and gashed in every limb, he yielded up his heroic soul.
His followers rushed into the gap and slashed right and left with their
swords and halberds. In vain the knights attempted to close up, for
other Confederates were constantly widening the gap. Strokes fell thick
and fast; helmets and heads were split at a blow, and the victims fell
and were trodden underfoot. Amidst this terrible slaughter the
Confederates’ wedge steadily forced its way deeper and deeper into the
square. It was soon in confusion. The victors forced their way through
to the enemy’s standard. The Urners captured the Hapsburg lions; and the
Lucerners, the standards of Alsace and Tyrol. As the Austrian
standard-bearer fell, the standard was seized by Ulrich of Aarburg, who
defended it with his life. “Austria to the rescue!” were his last words,
as he fell bleeding from many wounds. The words reached the ear of
Leopold, who was in command of the second division. No one could
restrain him from plunging into the thick of the fight. “Better die with
honor than live in dishonor,” he replied to those who were entreating
him to save himself. He rushed forward, seized the blood-sprinkled
banner and waved it high in air as the slaughter went on around him. In
the midst of it he fell dead.
When the knights saw their leader fall, they gave up all hope and
rushed, panic-stricken, to their horses; but their attendants had
already mounted them and fled. The third division was not in the battle,
and had made its escape when it realized all was lost. The foot-soldiers
were driven in every direction by the Confederates. Thus was the great
battle fought by the little army of the Four Cantons against this strong
army of knights and nobles.
The battle had lasted all day, and the Confederates were too exhausted
to pursue the defeated enemy. After kneeling on the field and giving
thanks for the victory, they took possession of the enemy’s camp.
Splendid arms and equipments fell into their hands, as well as eighteen
standards. Victors and vanquished lost famous warriors, and among them
nearly all their leaders. One hundred and twenty of the Confederates
were killed, but the Austrian loss was much heavier, nearly two thousand
having been slain. Besides Duke Leopold, three hundred and fifty
princes, counts, great barons, and nobles had fallen, among them the
Margrave of Baden-Hochberg, the count palatine of Würtemberg and Teck,
and the counts of Hohenzollern, Fürstenberg, Aarberg, Schwartzenberg,
and Thierstein. Several noble families were almost wiped out.
Following the old practice, the victors remained three days upon the
field. The third day was devoted to the burial of the dead. Duke Leopold
and twenty-seven knights and nobles were interred in the Church of the
monastery of Königsfeld in Aargau. The bodies of other nobles were
removed to their homes, and the rest of the dead were buried in a great
trench.
A simple chapel was erected on the spot where Leopold’s body was found,
which was dedicated July fifth, 1387. The titles and coats-of-arms of
the nobles were placed upon the walls. In the centre stood a cross
between two memorials, one representing Duke Leopold, the other the
Lucerne leader, both in the act of prayer. A picture over the door
commemorated Winkelried’s deed.
Hans Halbfutter of Lucerne, an eye-witness of the battle of Sempach,
commemorated the victory in a poem, wherein Arnold of Winkelried’s
heroic death is described. In the learned world it is still questioned
whether he performed this deed; some historians have even denied the
existence of William Tell and relegated him to the realm of legend. But
the name of Arnold of Winkelried, the savior of his fatherland, still
lives in the hearts of the Swiss people. A statue has been erected near
the fountain in the market place of Stans which represents him at the
moment of grasping the enemy’s spears. His birthplace and coat of mail
are also shown in Stans, and a chapel has been erected to his memory.
On the ninth of July, 1886, five hundred years after the battle of
Sempach, the Swiss held a national festival in honor of Arnold of
Winkelried, the hero who exhibited a manly courage, self-devotion, and
love of fatherland which secured the victory of the Confederates over
their strongest enemy, and raised Switzerland to the position of a
powerful Commonwealth.
Footnotes
[1]The Hohenstaufens were a princely German family, whose castle was at
Hohenstaufen in Würtemberg. It furnished sovereigns to Germany and
Sicily in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The last of them was
Conradin, who was executed in 1268.
[2]“Ode,” in German, signifies a desert or wilderness.
[3]The Aar, or Aare, rises in the Bernese Oberland and flows into the
Rhine. Its length is about 170 miles.
[4]Engelberg is now a health resort in the Canton of Unterwalden,
Switzerland, south of Lucerne. It still has a Benedictine Abbey.
[5]Rætia was a province of the Roman Empire, and its inhabitants were
mountaineers. It was conquered by Tiberius in 15 B. C. The Helvetians
were a Celtic tribe living near Lake Geneva, and were conquered by
Cæsar. The Huns were a Mongolian race which invaded Europe in the
fourth century. Their greatest leader was Attila. The Ostrogoths were
the Eastern branch of the Gothic race, and were subjugated by the
Huns. The Alamanni were a German race, whose territory in the third
century included Alsace and part of Eastern Switzerland. “Franks” was
a name assumed by a confederation of German tribes.
[6]Rudolph the First was the son of Albert the Fourth, Count of
Hapsburg. He succeeded his father in 1239, and was elected German
King in 1273, being the first of the Hapsburg line.
[7]The Rütli was a meadow in the mountains of Uri, fifteen miles
southeast of Lucerne.
[8]Nidwald is the northern part of the Canton of Unterwalden; Oberwald
is the southern part.
[9]Winterthur, one of the chief manufacturing towns in Switzerland,
about thirteen miles northeast of Zurich.
[10]The Crimea.
[11]Kovno is the capital of the government of Kovno, at the junction of
the Vilia and Niemen rivers in Russia.
Appendix
The following is a chronological statement of the principal events in
Swiss-Austrian history connected with this narrative:
1273 Rudolph elected Emperor.
1291 Rudolph’s death.
1291 Formation of the Everlasting League.
1292 Adolph elected Emperor.
1298 Albert of Hapsburg elected Emperor.
1308 Murder of Alfred.
1308 Henry of Luxemburg elected Emperor.
1313 Death of Henry.
1315 Austrian defeat at Morgarten.
1315 Everlasting League renewed.
1336 Civic War at Zurich.
1336 Rudolph Brun made burgomaster of Zurich.
1351 Everlasting League enlarged.
1386 Austrian defeat at Sempach.
1386 Death of Winkelried.
1389 The Seven Years’ peace.
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